Should Rafa be sacked or is the board at fault?

Liverpool achieved above many pundits expectations last season, receiving great recognition for attractive attacking football, while also chasing United to the wire, Liverpool were many fans favourites to win the league this season.

Unfortunately, they're under performing at the moment while being in shambles by selling the influential Xabi Alonso and replacing him with the injury plagued Aqualani, the inspiring Gerrard requiring an op and the devestatingly deadly Torres playing through the pain barrier, it seems Liverpools fortunes won't be improving any time in the near future.

Liverpool are on the verge of being out of the title race before Christmas, as well as shamefully exiting the champions league but is the answer to sack Rafa or should the board back him?

Don't you think that the footballers, who get paid a year's salary every week, are the ones that have responsibility to win games?

Just a thought.

5th Nov 2009

He should never, ever be sacked.

I love Rafa.

5th Nov 2009

keep them both for a good while longer see how much more damage they can do!

5th Nov 2009

Rafa is an idiot but a decent manager. Think the board, players and manager all have to take some blame. For all the money they have spent they are still a 3 man team; Carragher, Gerrard, Torres. I know a team needs a good 'spine' but you also need decent players to cover injuries. Selling Alonso was a big mistake too, but not sure who made the decision to let him go.

5th Nov 2009

i dont want Rafa sacked...we havent become a bad team overnight and can still turn our season around....besides WHO would we get to replace him?who would be put it charge while we find a replacement?sammy lee?great coach but not a great manager...got a text message from my brother last night which sums it up well .. "in 8 years Rafa has won 2 league titles, 1 uefa cup, 1 champions league and 1 fa cup."we've also reached ANOTHER champions league final which we lost.

5th Nov 2009

FilthAndFurry;6787996

He should never, ever be sacked.I love Rafa.

You have to admit, it was a stroke of genius selling fans favourite Crouch to buy Robbie Keane, only to sell him a few months later for a huge loss and not even bothering to replace him. :roll:

Now that Torres is struggling to play at his best through the pain barrier, I can't see Liverpool coming back to there best with Voronin as there main threat.

5th Nov 2009

Rafa only signed a new contract during the summer so the reds can't afford to sack him. The problem with the squad is that rafa hasn't been able to sign any £30million pound players, and until he can he will b chasing man utd n Chelsea. He has done a good job so far,he is building which is a process. Don't forget it took fergie 7 years to win the league!

5th Nov 2009

2 league titles? 2 league cups maybe?

5th Nov 2009

shaneomac;6788048

i dont want Rafa sacked...we havent become a bad team overnight and can … i dont want Rafa sacked...we havent become a bad team overnight and can still turn our season around....besides WHO would we get to replace him?who would be put it charge while we find a replacement?sammy lee?great coach but not a great manager...got a text message from my brother last night which sums it up well .. "in 8 years Rafa has won 2 league titles, 1 uefa cup, 1 champions league and 1 fa cup."we've also reached ANOTHER champions league final which we lost.

That's exactly it, too many people are eager to sack their manager when the times become harder than expected, whereas United have gone from strength to strength by remaining loyal.

Rafa needs a few enforcements in January (if he lasts that long) to get the team playing at there best but will the board back him or continue to say "sell before you buy"?

5th Nov 2009

landofdan;6788061

2 league titles? 2 league cups maybe?

That comment obviously wasn't under Liverpool status

5th Nov 2009

stewby;6788047

Rafa is an idiot but a decent manager. Think the board, players and … Rafa is an idiot but a decent manager. Think the board, players and manager all have to take some blame. For all the money they have spent they are still a 3 man team; Carragher, Gerrard, Torres. I know a team needs a good 'spine' but you also need decent players to cover injuries. Selling Alonso was a big mistake too, but not sure who made the decision to let him go.

nonsense...too many people believe this 2/3 man team crap.what about pepe,mash,johnson,benny to name another 4.xabi made the decision to leave - pointless keeping a player who doesnt want to play for us...so we got a good price for him and replaced him - fair enuf, aquaman is injured atm, but the general consensus is that weve got a proper gem on our hands there.

5th Nov 2009

he should be sacked theyve lost it totallty

5th Nov 2009

jamespir;6788108

he should be sacked theyve lost it totallty

Nonsense. They're just resting before the glorious march to victory.

In Rafa we trust:thumbsup:

5th Nov 2009

You have to look at the owners before the Americans. They had a fantastic deal on the table with a dubai group. No debt, new stadium lots of investment.

Then Hicks and Gillette came along with a few million more for them, and they sold out to owners who would put the money they paid for the club as a debt against the club, hence the clkub being over 300 million in debt....

Shame really.

lol

5th Nov 2009

In Rafa Manchester United Trust!

5th Nov 2009

its not rafa that needs to go. its the owners. we're screwed moneywise because of them. we need the big bucks to get the best players. we're screwed for this year because we're too reliant on gerrard and torres, both injured = failure. but you shouldn't blame rafa.

5th Nov 2009

wolf359;6788346

its not rafa that needs to go. its the owners. we're screwed moneywise … its not rafa that needs to go. its the owners. we're screwed moneywise because of them. we need the big bucks to get the best players. we're screwed for this year because we're too reliant on gerrard and torres, both injured = failure. but you shouldn't blame rafa.

Exactly. Glen Johnson for £17 million was the bargain of the summer and so was Aquilani.

I mean, he was injured and he'll be back just in time for the Champions League to be over and the Premier League to be out of reach, but he'll be ready for the Europa League.:thumbsup:

£37 million on a right back and a (injured) midfielder was a stroke of genius.

5th Nov 2009

I can't beleive all the flack aimed at the owners, yes they are in debt and running the club appallingly.

But in 5 years Rafa has spent in the region of £200 million and bought over 60 players.

If you buy 60 players (average over 10 a season) and still have a weak squad once a couple of players are injured then there is something seriosly wrong with his purchases.

Ok he has not been funded in the summer as much as he would have liked but he spent £18 million on a full back and £20 million on an injured played. Ludicrous.

I think he is a good coach but a poor team manager.

5th Nov 2009

greg_68;6788399

Ok he has not been funded in the summer as much as he would have liked … Ok he has not been funded in the summer as much as he would have liked but he spent £18 million on a full back and £20 million on an injured played. Ludicrous.

But Glen Johnson is a quality full back - not defensively of course, but going forward. Obviously not in Dani Alves class, or even Bosingwa/Evra/Cole/Clichy's class, but he is English....

And Aquilani might be injured, but think how good he might be.

Sure some of Rafa's signings haven't been brilliant, but give him another 10 years and then see who's laughing:thumbsup:

5th Nov 2009

apparently according to sky sports that hes been told if they dont qualify hes out into the dole queue

5th Nov 2009

I think Rafa should stay. He's doing a wonderful job, and people should just get off his back. What's the alternative? Sack him and employ someone who knows what they're doing? Myself and many other Gooners want him to stay as long as possible.

5th Nov 2009

i doubt he'll be sacked even if we finished out of the top4

the charman has even said so much when pushed on 5live. not that anything a football chairman says can be relied on

5th Nov 2009

If you do not qualify for the next round of the CL, finish out of the top 4 and no cup win there is no way he can stay is there? (compensation or not)

5th Nov 2009

Almost every Liverpool fan I talk to puts the blame on the owners and says they need to be removed, which is absolutely shocking. In terms of net spend, Liverpool have spent the 3rd most over the last 5 years, only outspent by Chelsea and Man City. What more can the owners do? It comes down to poor signings by Rafa and also poor tactics. This summer Rafa and Wenger both got around £40m from selling players. Rafa decided to buy a crock and a mediocre right back that wasn't even good enough to get into the Chelsea first team ahead of Paolo Ferriera. All Wenger did was buy one defender, yet we are doing a lot better than Liverpool but the Liverpool fans still moan the board didn't give them any money and that Rafa should've been given more money to just waste. Personally I want Rafa to stay because under him Liverpool are going backwards and if you look at their squad they have little reason to be hopeful for the future.

5th Nov 2009

Arsenal Fan;6788596

Almost every Liverpool fan I talk to puts the blame on the owners and … Almost every Liverpool fan I talk to puts the blame on the owners and says they need to be removed, which is absolutely shocking. In terms of net spend, Liverpool have spent the 3rd most over the last 5 years, only outspent by Chelsea and Man City. What more can the owners do? It comes down to poor signings by Rafa and also poor tactics. This summer Rafa and Wenger both got around £40m from selling players. Rafa decided to buy a crock and a mediocre right back that wasn't even good enough to get into the Chelsea first team ahead of Paolo Ferriera. All Wenger did was buy one defender, yet we are doing a lot better than Liverpool but the Liverpool fans still moan the board didn't give them any money and that Rafa should've been given more money to just waste. Personally I want Rafa to stay because under him Liverpool are going backwards and if you look at their squad they have little reason to be hopeful for the future.

Amen to that. :thumbsup:

5th Nov 2009

All hail to the fat Spanish waiter.... lol

5th Nov 2009

He will not be sacked because the cost involved, it would not just be him but his back room staff as well.

I dont think he should be sacked anyway, we have just been unlucky with injuries this year which has shown up our lack of decent depth in the squad. Alonso and Arbeloa wanted to leave so we had to go out a get someone.

I still think we will finish in the top 4.

5th Nov 2009

look how happy he is now......for the first time i see him smiling on the news

5th Nov 2009

cannyscot;6787990

Don't you think that the footballers, who get paid a year's salary every … Don't you think that the footballers, who get paid a year's salary every week, are the ones that have responsibility to win games?Just a thought.

+1

It's not the managers that run about on the pitch scoring goalsSack all the horribly overpaid footballers instead

5th Nov 2009

DarkKnight;6788858

+1It's not the managers that run about on the pitch scoring goalsSack all … +1It's not the managers that run about on the pitch scoring goalsSack all the horribly overpaid footballers instead

But he signed over 60 of them and still can't make a decent 11.

5th Nov 2009

greg_68;6788892

But he signed over 60 of them and still can't make a decent 11.

our first 11 is as good as anyone in the world...its the fact the we have to play people llike voronin and Kyrgiakos when we have injuries and suspensions that shows us up:thumbsup:

5th Nov 2009

greg_68;6788892

But he signed over 60 of them and still can't make a decent 11.

Didn't Burnley beat Chelsea and Arsenal in the last Carling Cup? It's all down to the players skill on the day

5th Nov 2009

DarkKnight;6788983

Didn't Burnley beat Chelsea and Arsenal in the last Carling Cup? It's all … Didn't Burnley beat Chelsea and Arsenal in the last Carling Cup? It's all down to the players skill on the day

So if Rafa spent £10m on you and you didn't perform it's your fault? In any business when the manager decides to spend millions on an asset, you'd expect that asset to perform very well, not spend £38m and have your business doing actually worse than the previous year. Rafa has to be held accountable for his compendium of poor signings over the space of just 5 years, he spends way too much on individual players and also doesn't know how to nurture young players and make them world class like Wenger and Ferguson do, which is why Liverpool have been left in a situation where they have no depth at all.

5th Nov 2009

shaneomac;6788101

nonsense...too many people believe this 2/3 man team crap.what about … nonsense...too many people believe this 2/3 man team crap.what about pepe,mash,johnson,benny to name another 4.xabi made the decision to leave - pointless keeping a player who doesnt want to play for us...so we got a good price for him and replaced him - fair enuf, aquaman is injured atm, but the general consensus is that weve got a proper gem on our hands there.

So why before every game is every Liverpool fan so concerned as to whether Gerrad and Torres are fit? Because Liverpool's chances of winning qith them both are higher than without. I've heard Aquilani is a decent player, but not a lot of use on the physio table. Strenght in depth is a sign of a clubs real strenght, so having as good a first 11 as anybody in the world is not enough any more.

5th Nov 2009

No to sacking him

5th Nov 2009

It's not just his signings (although a lot have been shocking), it's some of the substitutions he makes!Surely he must know he's not gonna win the league with ONE good striker?It's not rocket science is it!

5th Nov 2009

On the subject of Aqualini, Rafa could have gone out and bought a fit player, who got injured on the first day in training, ala Obertan at Man U. Or badly injured at the start of the season, ala Eduardo at Arsenal.

5th Nov 2009

peodude;6789381

On the subject of Aqualini, Rafa could have gone out and bought a fit … On the subject of Aqualini, Rafa could have gone out and bought a fit player, who got injured on the first day in training, ala Obertan at Man U. Or badly injured at the start of the season, ala Eduardo at Arsenal.

But Aquilani has been frequently injured over the last 3 or 4 years, making only 13, 21, 14 league appearances over the last 3 years respectively because he's been injured so often. Players like Obertan and Eduardo were not long term crocks before they were signed.

5th Nov 2009

greg_68;6788892

But he signed over 60 of them and still can't make a decent 11.

I love this myth about him making too many signings :-D Here's his list of signings, along with how much has been made/lost on those which are no longer in the club. To me, it looks pretty good to me, with only Keane, Morientes and Pennant being bad buys (although at the time of signing all three, based on previous season's form, who could have predicted they would flop?).

He's always had very little money to spend (when compared to teams with basically open cheque books) so I see all of these signings as progression, and buying the best as he could at that point in time... when someone better came along, he sells and buys.